• 15
  • February
    2012

When most people think about estate planning, they think it all ends upon death. During life a person will write a will and probably change it multiple times as they obtain new property, gain liability, have children, have grandchildren and so much more. The person may create a trust to benefit children or friends.

A person will plan, plan, plan, but most people assume everything is set before an estate goes into probate. May assets are not like cold cash. Assets like stock, businesses or investments by nature change in value regardless of whether the owner is alive or deceased. Whitney Houston's estate is one that is expected to possibly increase posthumously.

The most recent example of a significant increase in estate value after death is the estate of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. Although experts say the increase will not be at nearly the level experienced by MJ's estate, they say it could be significant.

The singer was found in her hotel room on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. She was 48 when she died. Her death came as a shock to many of her fans who have rushed to purchase her music in memory. The sales jumped in a day and a half to around 60 times what they were prior to her death. Over 195,000 copies of her most famous song "I Will Always Love You" were downloaded in that period.

"It really is a finite universe of celebrities that are unable to transcend their own death to create commercial opportunities," said David Reeder of GreenLight.

Source: The Washington Post, "Whitney Houston's death sparks outpouring that will benefit estate though questions remain," Feb. 14, 2012